Online Bible

Israel’s Taunt

For the LORD will ^ahave compassion on Jacob (the captives in Babylon) and will again ^bchoose Israel, and will settle them in their own land. ^cForeigners (Gentiles) will join them as proselytes and will attach themselves to the house of Jacob (Israel) . Esth 8:17 2 The peoples will take them along and bring them to their own place (Judea) , and the ^ahouse of Israel will possess them as an inheritance in the land of the LORD ^bas male and female servants; and they will take captive those whose captives they have been, and they will rule over their former oppressors. Ezra 1

3 And it will be in the day when the LORD gives you ^arest from your pain and turmoil and from the harsh service in which you have been enslaved, 4 that you will ^atake up this taunt against the king of Babylon, and say,“How ^bthe oppressor has ceased his insolence,And how the fury has ceased!

5 “The LORD has broken the staff of the wicked,The scepter of the tyrant rulers6 ^aWhich used to strike the peoples in anger with incessant blows,Which subdued and ruled the nations in wrath with unrelenting persecution.7 “The whole earth is at rest and is quiet;They ^abreak into shouts of joy.8 “Even the ^acypress trees rejoice over you kings of Babylon, even the cedars of Lebanon, saying,‘Since you were laid low, no woodcutter comes up against us.’9 “¹^aSheol below is excited about you to meet you when you come you tyrant of Babylon;It stirs up the spirits of the dead to greet you, all the leaders of the earth;It raises all the kings of the nations from their thrones in astonishment at your fall.10 “^aAll of them will respond tauntingly and say to you,‘You have become as weak as we are.You have become like us.11 ‘Your ^apomp and magnificence have been brought down to Sheol,Along with the music of your harps;The maggots which prey on the dead are spread out under you as a bedAnd worms are your covering Babylonian rulers.’12 “How you have ^afallen from heaven,O ¹^bstar of the morning light-bringer, son of the dawn!You have been cut down to the ground,You who have weakened the nations king of Babylon!13 “But you said in your heart,‘I will ^aascend to heaven;I will ^braise my throne above the stars of God;I will sit on the mount of assemblyIn the remote parts of the north.14 ‘I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;I will ^amake myself like the Most High.’15 “But in fact you ^awill be brought down to Sheol,To the remote recesses of the pit (the region of the dead) .16 “Those who see you will gaze at you,They will consider you, saying,‘Is this the man who made the earth tremble,Who shook kingdoms,17 Who made the world like a ^awildernessAnd overthrew its cities,Who ^bdid not permit his prisoners to return home?’18 “All the kings of the nations, all of them lie dead in glorious array,Each one in his own sepulcher.19 “But you king of Babylon have been ^acast out of your tomb (denied burial)Like a rejected branch,Clothed with the slain who are pierced by the sword,Who go down to the stones of the ^bpit into which carcasses are thrown,Like a dead body ^ctrampled underfoot.20 “You will not be united with them in burial,Because you have destroyed your land,You have slain your people.May the ^adescendants of evildoers never be named!21 “Prepare a slaughtering place for his sonsBecause of the ^awickedness the sin, the injustice, the wrongdoing of their fathers.They must not rise and take possession of the earth,And fill the face of the world with cities.”

22 “I will rise up against them,” says the LORD of hosts, “and will cut off from Babylon ^aname and survivors, and ^bson and grandson,” declares the LORD. 23 “I will also make Babylon a possession of the ^ahedgehog and of ¹swamps of water, and I will sweep it away with the broom of ^bdestruction,” declares the LORD of hosts.

Judgment on Assyria

24 The LORD of hosts has sworn an oath, saying, “^aJust as I have intended, so it has certainly happened, and just as I have planned, so it will stand— 25 to ^abreak the Assyrian in My land, and on My mountains I will trample him underfoot. Then the Assyrian’s ¹^byoke will be removed from them (the people of Judah) and his burden removed from their shoulder. 26 This is the ^aplan of God decided for the whole earth regarded as conquered and put under tribute by Assyria; and this is the ^bhand of God that is stretched out over all the nations. 27 For ^athe LORD of hosts has decided and planned, and who can annul it? His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back?”

Judgment on Philistia

28 In the ^ayear that King Ahaz of Judah died this mournful, inspired ^boracle (¹a burden to be carried) came:

29 “Do not rejoice, O ^aPhilistia, any of you,Because the rod of Judah that ^bstruck you is broken;For out of the serpent’s root will come a ^cviper King Hezekiah of Judah,And its offspring will be a ^dflying serpent. 2+@Kin 18:1, 3, 830 “The firstborn of the ^ahelpless of Judah will feed on My meadows,And the needy will lie down in safety;But I will kill your root with ^bfamine,And your survivors will be put to death.31 “Howl, O ^agate; cry, O city!Melt away, O ^bPhilistia, all of you;For smoke comes out of the ^cnorth,And ^dthere is no straggler in his ranks and no one stands detached in Hezekiah’s battalions.32 “Then what answer will one give the ^amessengers of the Philistine nation?That ^bthe LORD has founded Zion,And the ^cafflicted of His people will seek and find refuge in it.”

Israel’s Taunt against Babylon

When the LORD ^ahas compassion on Jacob and again ^bchooses Israel, and settles them on their own land, then ^cstrangers will join them and attach themselves to the house of Jacob. 2 The peoples will take them along and bring them to their place, and the ^ahouse of Israel will make them their own possession in the land of the LORD ^bas male and female servants; and ¹they will take their captors captive and will rule over their oppressors.

3 And it will be on the day when the LORD gives you ^arest from your hardship, your turmoil, and from the harsh service in which you have been enslaved, 4 that you will ^atake up this ¹taunt against the king of Babylon, and say,“How ^bthe oppressor has ceased,And how the ²onslaught has ceased!

5 “The LORD has broken the staff of the wicked,The scepter of rulers,6 ^aWhich used to strike the peoples in fury with unceasing strokes,Which ¹subdued the nations in anger with unrestrained persecution.7 “The whole earth is at rest and is quiet;They ^abreak forth into shouts of joy.8 “Even the ^ajuniper trees rejoice over you, and the cedars of Lebanon, saying,‘Since you have been laid low, no tree cutter comes up against us.’9 “^aSheol below is excited about you, to meet you when you come;It stirs the ¹spirits of the dead for you, all the ²leaders of the earth;It raises all the kings of the nations from their thrones.10 “^aThey will all respond and say to you,‘Even you have become weak as we,You have become like us.11 ‘Your ^apride and the music of your harpsHave been brought down to Sheol;Maggots are spread out as your bed beneath youAnd worms are your covering.’12 “How you have ^afallen from heaven,You ¹^bstar of the morning, son of the dawn!You have been cut down to the earth,You who defeated the nations!13 “But you said in your heart,‘I will ^aascend to heaven;I will ^braise my throne above the stars of God,And I will sit on the mount of assemblyIn the recesses of the north.14 ‘I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;^aI will make myself like the Most High.’15 “Nevertheless you ^awill be brought down to Sheol,To the recesses of the pit.16 “Those who see you will stare at you,They will ¹closely examine you, saying,‘Is this the man who made the earth tremble,Who shook kingdoms,17 Who made the world like a ^awildernessAnd overthrew its cities,Who ^bdid not ¹allow his prisoners to go home?’18 “All the kings of the nations lie in glory,Each in his own ¹tomb.19 “But you have been ^ahurled out of your tombLike ¹a rejected branch,²Clothed with those killed who have been pierced with a sword,Who go down to the stones of the ^bpitLike a ^ctrampled corpse.20 “You will not be united with them in burial,Because you have ruined your country,You have killed your people.May the ^adescendants of evildoers never be mentioned.21 “Prepare a place of slaughter for his sonsBecause of the ^awrongdoing of their fathers.They must not arise and take possession of the earth,And fill the surface of the world with cities.”

22 “I will rise up against them,” declares the LORD of armies, “and eliminate from Babylon ^aname and survivors, ^boffspring and descendants,” declares the LORD. 23 “I will also make it the property of the ^ahedgehog and swamps of water, and I will sweep it away with the broom of ^bdestruction,” declares the LORD of armies.

Judgment on Assyria

24 The LORD of armies has sworn, saying, “Certainly, ^ajust as I have intended, so it has happened, and just as I have planned, so it will stand, 25 to ^abreak Assyria in My land, and I will trample him on My mountains. Then his ^byoke will be removed from them, and his burden removed from their shoulders. 26 This is the ^aplan ¹devised against the entire earth; and this is the ^bhand that is stretched out against all the nations. 27 For ^athe LORD of armies has planned, and who can frustrate it? And as for His stretched-out hand, who can turn it back?”

Judgment on Philistia

28 In the ^ayear that King Ahaz died, this ^bpronouncement came:

29 “Do not rejoice, ^aPhilistia, all of you,Because the rod that ^bstruck you is broken;For from the serpent’s root a ^cviper will come out,And its fruit will be a ^dwinged serpent.30 “¹Those who are most ^ahelpless will eat,And the poor will lie down in security;I will kill your root with ^bfamine,And it will kill your survivors.31 “Wail, you ^agate; cry, you city;¹Melt away, ^bPhilistia, all of you!For smoke comes from the ^cnorth,And ^dthere is no straggler in his ranks.32 “What answer will one give the ^amessengers of the nation?That ^bthe LORD has founded Zion,And ^cthe poor of His people will take refuge in it.”